Cross-shopping the Mazda6 with other vehicles
I get a fair amount of email from this page, and one of the questions usually has to do with cross-shopping the Mazda6 hatchback (5 door) with other cars. One of these is the Acura TSX, a rebadged European Honda Accord brought to America to fill in a product line gap. It comes with a 4 cylinder engine (no 6 cylinder is available) and its MSRP is $27k. Only with a fully loaded 6s do you approach the $27k mark (and Acura dealers aren’t known for haggling around invoice!). Few people who purchase a Mazda6 get it optioned out like that, so to me, it’s always seemed like a pretty unfair comparison. But here’s the rest of my take on the two…
I’ve driven both cars, back to back. I found that the TSX just isn’t as fun to drive, has less responsive handling, a slightly harsher ride, and lacks the power of the Mazda 6s’s V6 engine. (No matter how well you build a 4 cylinder, it just isn’t going to compare favorably with a V6.) I found the TSX to have a harsher ride and I can’t get over the fact that it is simply a rebadged European Accord. Sure, most Americans won’t know/realize/care about it, but the car-loving cynic in me does. With the TSX, you get a smaller, less powerful, less torquey engine and you end up paying a premium simply for the Acura name. Is it worth it? Lots of TSX owners think so and the interior layout/gauges/etc. are sublime. But the frugal New Englander in me just can’t see paying that sort of premium for a smaller engine and a nameplate. Acura isn’t Mercedes or Lexus, so to me, it’s just not worth the premium.
Plus, for me, the main thing was to find a reliable 5-door. The TSX is like any other sedan at that point, because of the trunk problem. I’m sick of not being able to take stuff home that won’t fit in a trunk and would never buy an SUV or Minivan (overkill for my daily needs). I may have considered a Saab, but their reliability stinks and ever since being taken over by GM, their cars have gotten progressively blander by the year. (Their sales have increased, however, since ditching the 5-door layout for most of their models.)
The best thing to do, of course, is to take a test ride in both, back to back, and see which one feels better to you. Ultimately, picking a car is based upon a lot of objective criteria, but I think the final choice is very subjective. What works for some isn’t going to work for others. Good luck!